Finding Peace in Obscurity

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The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us . 
- John 1:14

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

- Isaiah 12:3

...the people who know their God shall be strong, 
and carry out great exploits.

- Daniel 11:32

...the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,

but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

- Romans 14:17

You must have something big to overcome 
so that you may grow bigger by what you defeat. 
Recognize the giant that is against you. 
Expect to be lifted up above the head of your enemy. 
The enemy exists to make you bigger.
- Graham Cooke

As the month of October comes to a close, I begin this post by writing about another Fall feast, a very beautiful one. This month we commemorated the seventh feast of the Lord, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, which is celebrated for seven days, on the 15th to the 21st of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. On the Gregorian calendar, Sukkot this year began at sundown on October 4 and ended at sundown on October 11.

Unlike the two fall feasts that come before it, Sukkot is marked with festivity, gladness, and joy. Also referred to as the Feast of Ingathering, the feast comes after the harvest of the fall crops, and there is a spirit of thankfulness for the bountiful harvest God has provided. 

Sukkot is celebrated yearly as a reminder of the forty years that God cared for the Israelites in the wilderness after they left Egypt. They lived in tents, were miraculously given manna from heaven and water from rocks and springs. While in the desert, their clothes and sandals did not wear out, nor did any of them get sick. During this entire time, God was in their midst, in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

The Hebrew word sukkot is the plural form of the singular sukkah which literally means "tabernacle," a temporary dwelling, like a booth or hut. At the start of this feast the Israelites built booths outside their homes and lived in them for seven days. In doing so, they remembered the time that God tabernacled with them in the wilderness.

God gives the Israelites specific instructions regarding this feast in Leviticus 23:33-44, part of which is quoted below:

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord... on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”

Another Biblical reference to the celebration of Sukkot is found in Nehemiah 8:17:

And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths... And there was very great rejoicing.

Even in the face of the difficult task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, while encountering hindrance and hostility from the enemy in their midst, the Israelites could greatly rejoice in their sukkot. These flimsy constructions caused them to rejoice as they remembered that, just as in the wilderness, the Presence of God was their strength. By His Word and command, the open, fragile sukkah becomes a refuge, a fortress protecting us from every enemy. (The Season of our Joy in First Fruits of Zion)


The main point of the celebration is the fact of God's presence in their midst, and in God's presence is fullness of joy!

David writes in Psalm 16:

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
- Psalm 16:11

Another name for this feast is The Season of our Joy; the week-long celebration is marked by eating, dancing, and singing. Aside from rejoicing in God's presence, there is thanksgiving for the provision of the fall harvest, and the promise of abundant rains for the planting season ahead.

The Israelites depended on agriculture for their daily existence, and adequate rain during the rainy season from November to March was needed to ensure a plentiful harvest. Thus an important part of the observance of this feast is the water-libation ceremony. Each morning of the feast, the high priest takes water from the Pool of Siloam and pours it into a special basin located in the inner court of the Temple. This is the visual prayer for rain, because there truly is a desperate need for rain in the land.

Below is a lovely prayer for rain that is recited on Shemini Atzeret, the day after the Feast of Tabernacles, which is also the official start of the rainy season in Israel.  The tone in the synagogue is a solemn one and the prayer voices the people's anxiety for seasonal rains:

May He send rain from the heavenly towers,
To soften the earth with its crystal showers.
You have named water the symbol of Your might,
All that breathe life in its drops to delight.
O’ revive those who praise Your powers of rain…

There follows six sections, each referring to the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and the Twelve Tribes, and their connection with water. As when Abraham was asked to offer Isaac’s blood “like water”; and when Jacob bravely rolled the stone off the “well of water”; when Moses was drawn in a reed basket “out of the Nile’s water” and when he struck the rock and “out came water”. Aaron, the High Priest, who, on the Day of Atonement, bathed “with sanctified water”; the twelve tribes whom G-d brought through the “divided waters of the Dead Sea” and “sweetened their bitter water” in the desert.

After these examples, we ask G-d to remember the merits of these worthy ancestors and remember the goodness granted them all, and for our sake, “not hold back water”. The end of the prayer is dramatic. The cantor calls out: “For You are G-d, who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall. For a blessing and not for a curse-” and the congregation answers “Amen!” “For life, and not for death-” “Amen!” “For plenty, and not for scarcity-” “Amen!”  (Reflections on Prayer for Rain in Heartland, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities)

Abba Father knows exactly how thirsty the land and people of Israel are! It is significant that in John 7:37-39, Jesus points to Himself as the source of living water:

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The future prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles is the millennial kingdom where Jesus will reign in peace, righteousness, and joy. Satan will no longer be in the picture. Surely at that time there will be life-giving rains, more than enough water for everyone!

As I look back on the significant events of this month, a lot of thoughts come to mind.

I believe what many Bible scholars say, that Jesus was born, not on December 25 but on Tishrei 15, (September or October in the Gregorian calendar) the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Sukkot is one of the three annual festival feasts when all male Jews were required to come to Jerusalem.  It was also the time when the temple tax had to be paid. Inns were full, and the spillover would reach the surrounding towns. This will explain why there were so many people in Bethlehem (only five miles away from Jerusalem) at the time that Mary and Joseph went there for the census. It is highly probable that the shed Jesus was born in was a sukkah, a hut or booth, constructed in celebration of this feast.

Since everything in the life of Jesus had prophetic implications, in the same way that His human body was a temporary container for His glory, it would also make so much sense for Him to be born in a "tabernacle," a temporary dwelling, as John wrote in John 1:14,

The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

In his Commentary of the Whole Bible, Matthew Henry writes: 

It is supposed by many that our blessed Saviour was born much about the time of this feast; then he left his mansions of light above to tabernacle among us (Jn. 1:14 ), and he dwelt in booths. And the worship of God under the New Testament is prophesied of under the notion of keeping the feast of tabernacles, Zec. 14:16 . For, the gospel of Christ teaches us to dwell in tabernacles, to sit loose to this world, as those that have here no continuing city, but by faith, and hope and holy contempt of present things, to go out to Christ without the camp, Heb. 13:13, 14 . (Leviticus 23)

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How appropriate it is then to also call this feast The Season of our Joy!

For indeed, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Hope of the world came down to earth during this feast, and no other than the angelic hosts of heaven proclaimed His arrival to the shepherds in the field.

Like Simeon who had been waiting for the "consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25), the shepherds and many others in Israel had been longing for their Messiah to come and deliver them from the heavy burden of their circumstances. Both wise man and lowly peasant knew that this much-prophesied and much-awaited event was cause for great rejoicing.

Significantly, the baby Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after he was born. The day after the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles is also referred to as "the Eighth Day" or Shemini Atzeret, a separate event but often mistakenly considered as part of Sukkot. 

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, 

His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel 

before He was conceived in the womb. 

- Luke 2:21

This, for me, is the deeper significance of this joyous feast: that Jesus my Hope and Savior chose to come to earth at this season. His first coming was a prophetic fulfillment of this feast, paving the way for hope and rest for all who were weary and heavily laden. Jesus came down to earth the first time in obscurity, hiddenness, and humility, as a Savior and Redeemer, a Suffering Servant, a Man of Sorrows.

This feast will be fulfilled a second time when Jesus Christ returns to reign as the Prince of Peace for a thousand years. His second coming will be in glory, grandeur, and in full view of everyone, as Judge and King.

But this feast also has a meaningful personal fulfillment for me.

Just remembering that Jesus came to earth as a helpless human baby born in a sukkah during the Feast of Tabernacles makes me want to embrace at a deeper level the kind of humility that He had.

Paul in Philippians 2:2-8 stated it so beautifully:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

To think that Jesus was the Son of God, yet was willing to come down to earth as a human being, to be our Deliverer, to suffer an unthinkable death, when He Himself deserved none of what was done to Him... I know I haven't begun to fully grasp the deeper implications of it all.

There's no doubt or question, my deep desire all these years is to be like Christ in my attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions.

But it's a long process.

I am grateful to God for reminders along the way.

The past months, I have gained a new appreciation for the way Jesus lived His earthly life in obscurity.

Since I live alone, most of my days are lived in quietness. The social activities I do outside my home are the exceptions, not the norm.

Living alone, however, doesn't mean an idyllic existence - for there is much that needs to be done. Maintaining the garden, the daily upkeep of my home, not to mention the marketing, the laundry, the cooking to feed myself and my dogs, the banking errands, and so much more, all require discipline and choosing the right priorities for each day.

Yet, despite the physical activity, a major portion of my life is lived in hiddenness and obscurity.

There is much to be said about this kind of life. Jesus was born as a human baby, and grew up in a tiny village called Nazareth. Nobody really knew who He was except Mary and Joseph. Nobody in that village had the slightest inkling that right in their very midst was the son of God.

Nobody really knew that someday that ordinary carpenter's son would be the Messiah, the Redeemer they have all been waiting for.

One of the most beautiful phrases in the Bible that I love is what Mary does - she treasures, she hides, all these things in her heart.

The Bible talks a lot about being hidden.

We have this treasure (the life of Christ) hidden in jars of clay. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

God promises to give us hidden treasures of darkness and hoards in secret places that we may know that He is God who calls us by name (Isaiah 45:3).

Jesus teaches us not to flaunt or display our spirituality, but instead to go to our room and pray, and close the door behind us... and our heavenly  Father who sees what is done in secret will reward us. (Matthew 6:6)

There is a sure promise of protection for the one who dwells in the secret place of the Almighty. (Psalm 91)

The time of hiddenness is when the tree drives its roots downward into the earth. Much of what we see in the spring and summer is the result of the quiet winter months when the world is pretty much hidden under the thick blanket of snow.

Lately I have been reading Graham Cooke's writings about the two ways God works - in hiddenness and in manifestation.

It is when God seems distant and quiet, hidden from us, that He is working to build, equip, and transform.

Perhaps the simplest way to explain it is to say that manifestation is a time of blessing; hiddenness is a time of building. God desires to bring you through seasons of hiddenness because He wants you to learn the discipline of walking by the Spirit.

Developing an ongoing walk with God by the power of the Holy Spirit is a discipline. Practicing faith is a discipline. Hiddenness is God’s way of establishing these disciplines in your life. Once established, they prevent the enemy from invading your life and touching you, because regardless of your emotions, you know how to find the presence of God; you have a constant assurance of His presence and His commitment to you.

Understanding the fact that sometimes God is hidden and sometimes manifest will ground you in your faith and help you to have a more consistent walk with Him. Whether it’s a ‘‘good’’ day or a ‘‘bad’’ day, you will know how to live in the grace of God.
From Understanding Hiddenness and Manifestation by Graham Cooke

Oswald Chambers wrote these striking lines in his devotional My Utmost for His Highest: "Has God trusted you with His silence - a silence that has great meaning? ... When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible, with absolute silence -- not a silence of despair but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation." (October 11)

We live by faith, not by sight. - 2 Corinthians 5:7

I like how the New Living translation puts it: For we live by believing and not by seeing.

The life of faith is developed in the back burners of our lives.

As I have often heard it said, the battle is won on the strategic planning board, not on the battlefield. And the battle is fought in our hearts first.

Bill Johnson once said:

Once you kill the lion and the bear in private,

God will trust you to kill Goliath in public.

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When I think about the events of this month, I can't help but be amazed at how God my Abba Father has quietly orchestrated every single day.

After getting back from Manila in early July, I made a tentative plan to visit my daughter again in late September. However, without a clear go signal from God, I needed to wait for confirmation before finalizing my plans.

In September I was given an opportunity to go on a ministry trip to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) for the first two weeks of October. The timing seemed perfect. From CDO, I would go directly to Manila and stay there till the end of the month.

However, this meant I would not be around for the birthday celebrations of two of my grandchildren: Joyful One's on October 8, and Forerunner's on October 20. Moving the schedules to a later date would mean I could not be back in time for our November family celebrations which begin on  November 1.

After much prayer, I had peace about pushing through with the original plans.

I arrived in Cagayan de Oro on October 3. The CDO seminars were scheduled only for Thursday and Friday evenings and whole day Saturday for two consecutive weekends. This gave me plenty of alone time during the day. I was hosted by a wonderful couple in their lovely home, and while they were away at work, I had the whole house to myself.

After almost two weeks in CDO, on October 15, I boarded my Sunday morning flight to Manila.

Since my daughter leaves early for work each weekday and gets home late in the evenings, I also spent much of my time in Manila by myself.

This month has really been a delightful month spent in solitude and serenity.

There were chunks of time for me to be in God's presence, something that I have longed to have.

During the Sunday worship I last attended at Victory Katipunan, Pastor Raymund spoke on the narrow gate as being the path to life that very few discover.

What a confirmation of the lessons Abba Father has been teaching me this month! Indeed the narrow gate is a hidden gate, and not many find it.

I arrived from Manila yesterday afternoon. Re-invigorated, renewed, and refreshed.

In the evening I attend the worship service at Victory Bacolod at the SMX, SM City. Pastor Jason preached a timely word on the foolish and the wise builder. This concluding message for their 16-week series entitled Redefined cemented the lessons God had for me this month of October.

It is in the hidden and obscure seasons of my life that God is teaching me true wisdom. Wisdom not as the world gives, in the center stage and under the bright lights of fame and acclamation, but in the quiet corner, in the secret place, even when it seems that God is far and nowhere to be seen.

How thankful I am to God for He has been steadily building my faith in Him, through the circumstances of my life!

And as this month ends, I am ready to face the remaining months of the year 2017, and ready to embrace what lies ahead of me in the year 5778, the year of new beginnings.

October has been very much a peaceful month for me. With this peace has come a gentle kind of joy... not exuberant, bubbling over, or showing off... but low key and inconspicuous, like a weaned child sitting contentedly in the lap of his mother.

I name this month, Finding Peace in Obscurity

Our family had an advanced celebration for the birthdays of Joyful One and Forerunner on October 1.

On October 3, I boarded my flight to Cagayan de Oro.

awaiting boarding at the Silay pre-departure lounge

Cagayan de Oro: October 3-14, 2017
God's presence was clearly felt during the two weekend seminars where most of the participants received spiritual breakthroughs and release from deep seated emotional bondage. My dear friend and fellow ministry team member Giok Tin arrived from Davao City to be with me during the Financial Foundations seminar.

The time I spent with the team was fruitful and encouraging.

Ancient Paths Basic Seminar in CDO

October 5-7, 2017

Beautiful roses from Lyn's garden!

at the Ostrich Farm

October 9, 2017

lunch with Richard and Giok Tin at Bibgy's

October 12, 2017

coffee time with Pastor Lloyd and Ric

October 13, 2017

last night in CDO with the team

October 14, 2017

One bonus privilege I enjoyed while in this city was the time I spent with my first cousin Bobby and his wife Girlie, and their family.

delicious lunch with my cousins and their family

at the Del Monte Clubhouse, Bukidnon

October 8, 2017 

Metro Manila: October 15-29

lunch with my dear friend Elvie at Pamana Bistro, Makati City

October 26, 2017

with daughter Obedient One and her pet dog George
October 29, 2017